The big talking points

Coventry City take on their off-colour League One rivals Walsall in the first round of the FA Cup this weekend.

Despite starting the season as one of the division’s surprise packages up among the early pace setters, the Saddlers have slumped in recent weeks and slipped to mid-table.

They have lost four of their last five games and are looking for a pick-me-up against the Sky Blues who, in contrast, are brimming with confidence from a six-game unbeaten run

So what’s gone wrong and what can Coventry City fans expect from the Saddlers when they travel in force to the Banks’s Stadium.

The big questions ahead of the Sky Blues trip to Walsall

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Here Walsall reporter Joe Masi of the Express and Star gives the lowdown on Saturday’s opposition:

What were the expectations at the start of the season after last year’s relegation battle?

“They weren’t high initially because I think it was the day before the season started against Plymouth at home Walsall had hardly any players.

“They signed three on the Friday – Morgan Ferrier, Jack Fitzwater and Kane Wilson – and before they signed Fitzwater they had just one centre-back, so they were 24 hours away from starting the season with one central defender.

“So there was no real expectation other than to stay up really. But they started the season really well.”

How is manager Dean Keates doing?

“He came in last year and put them in a 4-4-2 formation and they have just been so well organised. Everyone knows and sticks to their jobs perfectly and they have become a proper, well organised team.

“And that’s why I think they started so well when they were unbeaten in their first ten games in all competitions, seven in the league, so they were flying at one stage.”

What do you put the recent slump down to, having lost four out of their last five games?

“I think it’s a combination of things really.

“Initially it seemed that a lot of decisions and things appeared to be going against them and they weren’t really getting the rub of the green.

“The Shrewsbury game at home, for example, they absolutely battered them but just couldn’t score. They just couldn’t see off their opponents and since then confidence has dipped.

“They have had a couple of really bad performances like Luton away, which was dreadful, and then Burton last Saturday and Charlton on Tuesday were equally as bad.”

Any weaknesses?

“Earlier in the season they were scoring the first goal in games and now they are not.

“They conceded the first goal on Tuesday night from an early penalty and as soon as that went in you could visibly see the confidence come out of them. They just went into their shells and didn’t recover.

“They have given away penalties in five of their last six home games and they just need a win to get their belief back because if they do concede their heads go down and they know they are in trouble.”

Strengths?

“At the start of the season they had so much confidence. All the players were on Twitter doing this #dreamers thing where they believed they could upset the League One apple cart.

“After ten games they genuinely looked like top six contenders but at the minute they are just not the team they were.

“They were a joy to watch in the first ten games and I am sure they can get back to that.

“They just need something to fall for them from the chances they are creating because the goals have dried up a little bit.

“They have got two wingers, Josh Ginnelly and Zeli Ismail, who started the season really well and then their form has dipped in the last four or five weeks and that’s coincided with the team’s form dipping as well.”

What’s the manager’s preferred style?

“It’s decent to watch - all about being well organised.

“When they are playing 4-4-2 it’s like a really traditional formation with two wingers, a defensive midfielder and a box-to-box midfielder with a big man and quick man up front.

“When that’s in full flow it looks great going forward. They are quite counter attacking because they can break really quickly but maybe that’s become something that teams have worked out.”

Who are the star men?

“George Dobson is probably their best player. He’s 20 years old and the captain.

“He’s a proper box-to-box midfieler who scored the goal to keep them up against Northampton last season, and since then he’s just gone from strength to strength. He can tackle, covers every blade of grass, can pass and gives everything every week.

“He just needs to add goals.

“He was at Arsenal and West Ham. He came to Walsall on loan from West Ham and then they got him on a permanent deal.

“When he’s on his game Morgan Ferrier is such a live wire up front.

“He is very erratic but a right handful. When he gets the ball to feet he runs at defences but his finishing has let him down in the last couple of weeks.

“There’s also Andy Cook up front who has got seven goals in 21 games this season, which isn’t bad. He has two in his last three and is a proper target man and a real handful but he relies on service.

“He came from Tranmere in the summer. He’d been at Barrow and scored 20 goals a season before going to Tranmere and scoring 28 last season, scoring the goal at Wembley that took them up.

“Him and Ferrier were the pick of the non-league strikers and Walsall got them both and they started the season really well.”

Will Walsall fans be surprised to see Amadou Bakayoko is not getting a game for Coventry?

“Probably not. First and foremost he is a lovely lad but probably just needs a run of games and goals to get going.

“He has got all the attributes but just needs to go out and actually do it.

“I think what he needs is a manager who has absolute faith in him and can put an arm round him and tell him he’s his main man because I think he might thrive under that.

“He’s definitely got the ability but it’s just a question of eking it out of him.

“He always had interest from other clubs and scouts while he was at Walsall because he has got a lot of things you just can’t teach.”

What sort of reception will Bakayoko get?

“Probably mixed. At the end of the day he’s a Walsall lad who came through the youth ranks so there will be fans who will give him a cheer.

“But I think it’s fair to say he endured a difficult relationship with Walsall fans and, to be honest, that’s probably one of the reasons he left.

“There were times at the end of last season where he didn’t look like he was putting in a shift and that’s what annoyed a lot of fans because the team was in a mess.

“So there will be some fans saying, ‘he’s one of our own,’ sort of thing and others who think when we really needed him, did we get what we needed?”

“Walsall have a lot of loan players and many get forgotten. I’m sure he’ll get a bit of a cheer and warm reception but he was one of many over the last three or four years.

“But he’s a good player and he scored a lot of important goals for the club, especially in his first spell when he was quite prolific and in the side that finished third and just missed out on automatic promotion by a point.”

Coventry fans could outnumber the home support on Saturday. What do you put that down to?

“Walsall’s average attendance is about 4,000. People often say you have to be a little bit mad to be a Walsall fan given that five miles down the road is The Hawthorns, 11 miles away Villa Park, ten miles away Wolves, not to mention Blues, so they are slap, bang in the middle of an area with massive clubs.

“So they have got their hardcore of fans but it’s rare for them to be outnumbered, if that is the case at the weekend.”

What a great advert

Callum Wilson’s hot streak of form has been been recognised in the form of a full England call-up - and Coventry City fans are loving it.

The Bournemouth forward has netted seven times in 13 appearances already this season, and having had to battle hard to return from a long injury lay-off, his efforts have been rewarded by Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate.

Wilson, 26, left the Sky Blues for the south coast in the summer of 2014 and he netted 23 times in his first season - a promotion-winning one for the Cherries.

Battling back from two successive knee injuries, it puts Wilson’s achievements into perspective.

The Coventry-born attacker scored 23 in 55 appearances for the Sky Blues and the City fans remember his story as they congratulate him on a true career high.

Dave Clare: Always happy when a Cov academy graduate does well. The better they do, the more attention is given to our academy, the better the standard of young player we can attract. The likes of Madders and Wilson are a great advert for our club #PUSB

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What's happening at Coventry City?

Dan Howells: Superb! Coventry boy doing the city and midlands proud @CallumWilson #PUSB - would have happened earlier but for injury. Great news.

Simon Williams: Well deserved, hopefully an England regular from here on

Jack Keane: Maddison and Wilson in the same year

Matthew Green: Excellent !!! Do we get more money now

Clint Van Damme: his stock has certainly risen given the start to the season he’s had. Hopefully he stays fit and wins an England cap.

Sky Blue Tony 176: Done pretty well for a one season wonder in league one. Always rated him myself and if he wasn’t as injury prone as he is I think his career would be far more advanced than it already is.

Fellow City academy product James Maddison misses out this month because of a knee injury.

His Leicester manager Claude Puel confirmed: "He is not available for this game and the international games.”

Touching story

Coventry teenager Alfie Bates took a huge step towards fulfilling his dream of becoming a professional footballer when he made his debut for Walsall last month.

The former Coundon Court schoolboy has been on quite a journey.

He suffered the devastating blow of losing his mum to cancer five years ago before being released by Birmingham City, aged 15.

But the determined midfielder made her a promise that he’d ‘make it,’ and his hard work and determination paid off when he was picked by Saddlers’ boss Dean Keates to face Middlesbrough Under-21s in the Checkatrade Trophy.

The big questions ahead of the Walsall game:

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“It’s been a journey all right,” said the 17-year-old, who is a big Sky Blues fan, going to both Wembley finals in recent seasons.

“My mum used to take me to football when I was little.

“When she was very ill before she passed away I told her that I was going to be a professional footballer, whatever it takes.

“That’s what drives me on every day.”

(Image: Pic courtesy of the Express and Star)

Alfie also lost another close family member nine months ago when his great granddad Alf, after whom he was named, died aged 92.

“I want to establish myself as a League One pro and then play at the highest level I can," said Alfie.

“I am still on a scholarship, so not signed a pro contract yet but hopefully I will be able to do that.

“Players are usually offered their first pro contracts at the end of their second year so hopefully I can earn that by the end of this season.”

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Alfie comes from a sporty family with his mum Lesley Mallows and his two sisters, Carly, aged 18 and Holly, 14, talented athletes with Coventry Godiva and representing England.

Carly became the fastest under-15 hurdler in England in 2014, breaking the record set by legendary Olympian Denise Lewis at the West Midlands Athletics Championships.

Incredibly, her mum set the record for the 800 metres race at the same event in 1987.

Devoted mum Lesley used to take Alfie to football training and trials as a small boy while dad Wayne was busy setting up his business.

He started out at Coundon Court Juniors before a short spell training with the Sky Blues Academy aged seven, before being taken on by Birmingham City.

“I had trials at Coventry and spent a few weeks there but they didn’t seem that keen on me so I went to Birmingham and stayed there until I was 15,” he said.

“I was always quite small as a kid and my height has been an issue for some people. I am only 5ft 7 now but I am filling out a bit and it’s not so much of an issue now I am older.

“I was released by Birmingham and playing Sunday league football for Coventry Sphinx in the JPL and for Coundon as well.

“I went back for a trial game at Coventry but they picked someone else ahead of me. But, again, I think it was a size thing because the lad they picked was quite tall.

“But I got hold of the number of the Academy manager at Walsall and asked him if he fancied giving me a go to see if I was good enough, and it just went from there.”

Two years later and the energetic and technically gifted midfielder started against Middlesbrough U-21s, helping the Saddlers to a 3-1 victory at the Banks’s Stadium in October.

“It was really good to make my debut and I know my mum would be really proud,” he said.

“I have been training with the first team for a while now and just to get my first appearance was really good and it’s all about looking to my future now.

“I’m still quite young. I hope to be involved in the Checkatrade Trophy again next week and I’d love to be involved against Coventry on Saturday.

“Regardless of whether I am in the squad or not I will be at the game.

“I have always supported my home town club and went to Wembley twice in the last couple of years to watch them win the Checkatrade Trophy and the play-off finals.

“But I am at Walsall and that is my main focus now.

“If I don’t make the squad this weekend I would love to play against them in the league in either December or February.

“I have just got to work hard, stay injury free and keep performing to the best of my ability.

“I have got a few lads who are older than me and ahead of me so I’ll have to see what happens.”

Every game

Veteran Coventry City captain Michael Doyle has played every league game so far this season.

He’s sat the out the Checkatrade Trophy group games, as he did last season, and was an unused substitute in the EFL Cup in August as manager Mark Robins looks to conserve the hugely influential skipper’s energy for the League One campaign.

Doyle played in the FA Cup last season when City got to the fifth round of the competition, seeing off Premier League Stoke City at the Ricoh Arena along the way.

But one year on at the age of 37 and with a squad boasting plenty of senior competition in midfield, Robins may see Saturday’s first round trip to Walsall as another opportunity to rest his legs.

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But asked if he’s keen to be involved, Doyle said: “Oh yeah, definitely in the FA Cup .

“I was involved in the games last year and it was brilliant.

“Unfortunately I missed out at Brighton when I had my knee injury, which was frustrating.

“I very nearly made that game but I think the most important thing was getting back for the league, with the position we were in going into the Mansfield game it was too important.

“Hopefully I will play on Saturday.

“I look forward to it because they are always great games at Walsall."

Doyle has fond memories of the last time he played at Walsall for the Sky Blues .

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“I remember the last time I played there I think we won 6-1 at the Bescot so it was a good day," he said, recalling the league game in which Andy Morrell and Gary McShefrey both scored a brace, while Julian Joachim and an own goal from Ian Roper made it a memorable occasion for the travelling fans.

“That was a long time ago, 2004 I think when Julian Joachim was up front, so there are some good memories there.

“The Coventry fans always travel well there and I’d love to play, but it’s up to the manager and whatever he wants I will go along with it and whatever he wants for me.”

The FA Cup provides a break from the rigours of the league, although Doyle is disappointed that City have been pitted against a side with whom they’re slugging it out with in the same league.

“We’ve got the momentum because although we didn’t win against Accrington we’re still unbeaten with six on the bounce,” he said, “so for us, it’s about keeping that going.

“It’s a tough game because we are playing a team from our division.

“I always think that going into the Cup the one thing you want is to not play anyone in your division.

“It’s nice to get away from that but it is what it is. But, having said that, I don’t think it could be much better for us going to a local side where we will take a big crowd.

“And it will be a great game to play in, but for us it’s more about keeping the momentum going.”

Ticket latest

Coventry City fans are heading for a sell-out of their near 3,000-strong allocation for the short trip to Walsall in the FA Cup.

As of Thursday lunchtime, the Sky Blue Army had snapped up 2,752 of their 2,950 quota for the first round of the competition at the Banks's Stadium on Saturday, which means there were just 198 left this afternoon.

Walsall have confirmed that they have sold around 1,700 to their own fans so far but are expecting a walk-up on the day, estimating an overall crowd of between 5,000 and 5,500.

That means it's looking increasingly likely that City fans will outnumber the home support at the big local derby when Mark Robins 's men will be looking to extend their unbeaten run to seven games.

The big questions for Sky Blues fans ahead of Saturday's trip

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Walsall's bid to get more bums on seats is not helped by the fact that they slipped to their fourth League One defeat out of five on Tuesday night when they lost 2-0 at home to Charlton Athletic.

That will hardly inspire the home fans who are on a run of five consecutive games at the Banks's, making for an expensive spell for non season ticket holders who may be picking and choosing their games.

Dean Keates' side started their slide in form with a 2-0 defeat at Luton, swiftly followed by a 3-0 thumping at Southend United.

A 3-2 home victory over Wycombe Wanderers got them back to winning ways but they lost 3-1 at home to Burton on Saturday and followed that up with their midweek loss to Charlton.

So far this season the Saddlers have averaged crowds of just over 4,000 for their opening eight League One matches.

Tuesday night's attendance, however, dipped below that mark to 3,719.

And manager Keates admits his side have to get back to basics when they entertain the Sky Blues in the Cup this weekend.